Dolly Parton is setting the record straight about her health — straight from her to her fans.
The country music community has been worried since health issues forced Parton to postpone a string of Las Vegas shows originally scheduled for December.
Concerns ramped up earlier this week after Parton’s sister, Freida, shared a statement asking fans to pray for the country legend.
But on Wednesday (Oct. 8), Parton put those worries to rest with a video message showing her hard at work — filming commercials for the Grand Ole Opry — and in great spirits.
She even timestamped the clip by mentioning the date and thanked fans for the prayers and well-wishes they’ve been sending her way.
She also assured them that she’s just fine — and offered up some more details about what exactly has been going on with her health.
How is Dolly Parton Doing Now?
The first thing the video makes clear is that Parton isn’t on her deathbed. She hasn’t even really slowed down her work schedule much.
Read More: Dolly Parton Postpones Shows Due to Health Challenges
“I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?” Parton said with a smile. “I’m working hard here!”
“I appreciate your prayers. I’m a person of faith, and I can always use the prayers for anything and everything,” she continued. “But I want you to know that I’m OK.”
New Details About Dolly Parton’s Health Issues
The second thing Parton addressed in her video is the health trouble she’s facing.
She’s touched on those issues previously, including when she postponed her upcoming shows.
Read More: What’s Wrong With Dolly Parton?
But in this new update, Parton shares some new details about how some ongoing health troubles have caught up to her after her husband, Carl Dean, died in March.
“Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself,” she says. “So I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of.”
Once she did go back in for a checkup, her doctors told her that some health issues had accumulated.
“Nothing major. But I did have to cancel some things,” Parton notes, explaining that she needs to stay closer to Nashville in order to receive treatment at the medical facility where she’s a patient.
“So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, we need to take care of this, we need to take care of that,” she shared. “Nothing major. But I did have to cancel some things. So I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m having a few treatments here and there.”
Is Dolly Parton Dying?
Parton was very clear on this point. “I’m not dying,” she said.
She also cracked some jokes about the rumors that have circulated, including one AI image that shows her on her deathbed — and an emotional, artificially-generated Reba McEntire by her side.
“We both looked like we need to be buried,” Parton said of the fake images.
Related: Remembering the Country Stars Who’ve Died In 2025
“If I was really dying, I don’t think Reba would be the one at my deathbed,” she added. “She might come visit me earlier, but anyway. There’s just a lot of rumors flying around.”
“But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” Parton concluded.
“I’m not ready to die yet,” she added. “I don’t think God is through with me, and I ain’t done working.”
30 Photos of Dolly Parton Young
Dolly Parton has been a fixture in country music and really, all of entertainment, since the 1960s. The only thing that has changed about the icon is her age — she’s as radiant as she’s ever been! Check out these pictures of a young Dolly Parton.
Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
